Native American economic initiatives are influencing our world today…here is a terrific example!

A new economic initiative in Indian Country that moves beyond the sale of tobacco and casinos is Plantagon, an innovative international partnership with Native American principles at its core. We heard about it from Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Onondaga Nation (in upstate New York), when he presented the 2014 Annual Elizabeth Watts and Howard C. Petersen Lecture at Penn Museum last week as the inaugural guest speaker for our new exhibition – Native American Voices: The People – Here and Now.

Oren Lyons spoke at the Penn Museum on April 16. He is the Chairman of Plantagon International.

The Onondaga Nation’s newest economic initiative – Plantagon International – is a partnership with the Swedish engineering firm, Sweco. Together, Onondaga and Sweco are developing innovative engineering solutions to food production in cities around the globe. The company’s ethics and practices are founded on two fundamental Iroquois/Haudenosaunee principals of a) looking ahead to make responsible decisions in support of future generations, and b) equity and sharing. By modeling sharing and sustainability, Plantagon wants not only to feed cities of the future, but to change the way business is done.

Plantagon’s product is highly engineered vertical greenhouses in cities – urban agricultural solutions to feed the future. The first vertical greenhouse is being built now, just south of Stockholm in Lingk?ping, Sweden, and will open in 2014.

Plantagon’s first greenhouse will open in Sweden later this year – it is 54 meters high.

Right now, the company’s primary market is Asia and a second tower is planned in Singapore.